RayBarbeeMusic
New member
Anyone tried it? I find the stock sound piercing, was thinking that might help. I like PAFs and don't mind bright, but stock PG was a bit much for me.
Alnico 8 in Pearly Gates Bridge?
- Thread starter RayBarbeeMusic
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eclecticsynergy
Well-known member
A8 is loud but still pretty harsh in the treble, especially in a bright guitar. I might consider A6 instead.
Lucius Paisley
New member
Have put an A8 (Tonerider Octane) in the bridge of my 335 style guitar and so far I think it's great. Solid sound even at low volume, not too outrageous at full.
RayBarbeeMusic
New member
Yeah A8 is darker than A5, but not darker than A2 necessarily. I tried A6 in a Gibson Custom Bucker and wasn't that blown away by it. It kind of killed the harmonics on the high strings.
Does the Pearly Gates Bridge use PE or Poly coated wire? Seems unusually bright given it's A2, way brighter than a Seth which doesn't have that much more wire on it.
idsnowdog
Imperator of Indignation
I have roughcast A5, A6, and A8 slated to try. I also have A3 and A4 to try for the neck. The Pearly Gates was one of the first pickups I bought but I sold it years ago. I have always wondered what it would be like with a different magnet.
I have a feeling that the right magnet is already in there. I think any other one would emphasize frequencies I don't like.
Lewguitar
New member
I've never heard an alnico 2 magnet pickup that I would describe as "piercing".
Alnico 5? Ceramic? Heck yes.
But if you hear it that way...then you do!
I believe the PG's have a polished alnico 2 magnet.
Switching to roughcast alnico 2 should help.
Switching to anything else will just make it brighter and more "piercing".
I have to suspect there's something else going on in your rig though.
A bright overdrive pedal? A bright speaker? A bright cap on your amp that could be clipped? A prescence knob turned up too high?
Who knows?
Alnico 5? Ceramic? Heck yes.
But if you hear it that way...then you do!
I believe the PG's have a polished alnico 2 magnet.
Switching to roughcast alnico 2 should help.
Switching to anything else will just make it brighter and more "piercing".
I have to suspect there's something else going on in your rig though.
A bright overdrive pedal? A bright speaker? A bright cap on your amp that could be clipped? A prescence knob turned up too high?
Who knows?
RayBarbeeMusic
New member
I've never heard an alnico 2 magnet pickup that I would describe as "piercing".
Alnico 5? Ceramic? Heck yes.
But if you hear it that way...then you do!
I believe the PG's have a polished alnico 2 magnet.
Switching to roughcast alnico 2 should help.
Switching to anything else will just make it brighter and more "piercing".
I have to suspect there's something else going on in your rig though.
A bright overdrive pedal? A bright speaker? A bright cap on your amp that could be clipped? A prescence knob turned up too high?
Who knows?
Not unless it's going on with 15 or so amps and nearly 100 guitars and a few hundred other pickups to.....which it's not.
PG bridge seems to be described as bright regularly. I find the Slash bridge bright to. Seth not so much, it's fine, but not sure why a PG is so bright and a Seth is not with similar winds and the same wire (is it?) Slash uses different wire (poly?) so that's that. Certain SD pickups with A2 are much brighter than other winders (BKP, Lollar, DiMarzio, Throbak) using A5 in pickups with similar DCR specs. A Throbak ER for instance, uses short A5, about 8.3k DCR of PE, but it's most definitely not bright.
For A5 pickups I've found too bright I've had some luck with A8, I like the output boost to on a PAF, but starting with A2... not sure where to go. Low wind/beefy mag can be a great combo, but doesn't seem like A8 would take some high end off here. Maybe roughcast A2....... or where do you get the double thick A2? I'd guess you'd need new spacers to accomodate the double thick mag?
TVFV
Well-known member
Is this something that twist of the tone knob couldn’t fix? If it’s too bright regardless of which setup you’re using, I see no point in trying fix it with a magnet. Just stop using the pickup and use something else you know that works for you.
Also did you do a song called Beats Ballet? I stumbled upon it on Pandora and recognized the name from here.
Also did you do a song called Beats Ballet? I stumbled upon it on Pandora and recognized the name from here.
Last edited:
Clint 55
OH THE DOUBLE THICK GLAZE!
Here's the link for double thick. All you do is add another spacer on each side. 1 on top of the lead and 1 on top of the provided spacer on the other side.
https://www.cermagmagnets.co.uk/aln...nd-58mm-long---58mm-x-65mm-x-125mm-1731-p.asp
https://www.cermagmagnets.co.uk/aln...nd-58mm-long---58mm-x-65mm-x-125mm-1731-p.asp
eclecticsynergy
Well-known member
Custombuckers use A3 in a symmetrical wind I think. Given much stronger output and the attenuated highs, it makes sense that A6 would be a big change. Probably not just the reduced treble but also losing some of the openness that helps make a low-output humbucker so well-defined.
Not sure about the wire in PGs. I had assumed it'd be PE since they're modeled after a particular PAF set, but that isn't at all certain.
RayBarbeeMusic
New member
Yeah I've had a decent amount of luck with A8 in low wind PAFs to keep the mojo but give some output. A6 just didnt' seem to work as well; the harmonics went away but the pickup is still bright ish. I think A8 is the way to go in the custombucker. The A3 had an interesting sound but something about the tactile response didn't do it for me. Wasn't so much about power as a certain range of notes didn't seem to track quite right.
Lewguitar
New member
I wonder if sometimes people hear what the advertising lingo tells them they're going to hear.
"The Pearly Gates vintage output passive humbucker pickups pack ton of focused midrange attitude with raw Texas punch and sizzle."
Mine never sounded raw. Or had much sizzle either.
Just sounded like a real good alnico 2 humbucker.
I've had the Custom Shop version too.
Liked it even more.
But sizzle?
My dad used to say: "Sell the sizzle, not the steak".
"Raw" steak in the case of the PG I guess.
"The Pearly Gates vintage output passive humbucker pickups pack ton of focused midrange attitude with raw Texas punch and sizzle."
Mine never sounded raw. Or had much sizzle either.
Just sounded like a real good alnico 2 humbucker.
I've had the Custom Shop version too.
Liked it even more.
But sizzle?
My dad used to say: "Sell the sizzle, not the steak".
"Raw" steak in the case of the PG I guess.
RayBarbeeMusic
New member
Mononoaware
Active member
For what it's worth, I really liked the A8 I put in a basswood 25.5 Floyd guitar. It filled the lower end out (as you would expect), yet stayed pretty organic. Changed the sound from "aggressive" to "assertive," if that makes any sense. Gutsier and not quite so thin, but not a huge change to the flavor.
So ,worth a try.
My favorite instance for the PGb, though, has been stock as a HSS pickup with 250k controls all around. Lops off just a touch of the top end and moves the voice down just a bit without messing with the "squish."
So ,worth a try.
My favorite instance for the PGb, though, has been stock as a HSS pickup with 250k controls all around. Lops off just a touch of the top end and moves the voice down just a bit without messing with the "squish."
RayBarbeeMusic
New member
Yeah I could definitely seeing it benefiting from at least a 250k volume pot. Would broaden the resonant peak and reduce the spike.
